Beginner Triathlete, Laura Montgomery

In our quest for triathlon knowledge, we started looking at where we began training a few months ago. As well as interviewing some of the world’s best (Jess Davis, Helen Jenkins, Jodie Stimpson & Samantha Cadwallader) to see how they do it, we thought we’d catch up with people like us, those starting out in tri, to see what inspired them and how they’re getting on.

First up in our beginner series is Laura Montgomery.

 Congrats on taking the plunge to tri! Before we get started, what event are you doing?

The event I’m training for is the Craggy Island Triathlon, which takes place in October. I’ll be taking part on Sunday 9th – Day 2. This will be my first triathlon so I’m both very excited and very nervous. At this stage there is so much unknowns, but I’ve got a good bit of time to get clued up. There is a 550m swim from the mainland to the island, then a 14km mountain bike ride, followed by a 8km hill run.

And why did you decide to do a triathlon?

I’ve been mountain biking and fell running for a while now, and got myself a road bike at the end of last Summer, so for a while I’ve been setting myself little challenges or adventures. I’d been thinking for a while that I’d like to take part in a more organised event, and initially thought about doing the Great North Run. However all my running is off-road so I think the Great North Run would destroy my knees. Some of my friends have been taking part in triathlons for the last couple of years, and they mentioned the Craggy Island one, so I signed up. Then I checked out what was involved and what I’d let myself in for!

What’s going to be your biggest challenge?

Without a shadow of a doubt, swimming will be my biggest challenge. To say that my swimming is poor would be an insult to weak swimmers. Other than occasionally enjoying a relaxing swim in a lake (I live in Cumbria) during the warm Summer evenings, I haven’t seriously swam in years. However, I now have my second swimming session under my belt, and while I have a very long way to go, I can already see some improvement.

Fitting in training is tough for us between family commitments and work. What do you do and how do you fit in training around your normal daily life?

I work full time in an office as a website designer, so by the end of the day I’m busting to get out and do some excise. I do find though that if I’ve had a particularly taxing day, or haven’t slept well the night before, or the weather is rubbish, that it can be very hard to motivate myself. However, I’m hoping with Spring finally arriving that this will become easier.

What have you found hardest so far?

Definitely my swimming. My swimming technique is so poor. And even though I feel like my fitness level is generally improving, in the pool this all counts for nothing. Clearly my breathing technique is all wrong, as well as my stroke. Any tips for a newbie? 🙂 Tripals – sure! Would highly recommend a coach, if at least for just one session to start with to help point you in the right direction. Then see how you go. We’ve found the more meters we put in the pool, the better our technique becomes.

And what have you enjoyed the most?

I love getting out on my bike, however I haven’t been on my MTB for a while as I have been affected by the flooding in December. So my focus has very much been on improving my running, especially those hills. I’ve noticed a massive improvement in the last couple of weeks, and have actually started enjoying the challenge of going uphill. However, downhill is by far the best, especially if it’s off-road as it reminds me so much of MTB single track. I’m usually beaming from ear to ear after a bit of downhill.

Do you train with anyone or have you got a go to person that helps you to get out there and push yourself?

At the moment, my running is very much solo – well, me and the dog. However, both my swimming sessions have been with my partner and my brother. Both of whom are swimming better than me, so chasing their tails in the pool is good motivation to get better, and especially to improve my technique. When life gets back to normal, I’ll be hitting the local trails again to build up my MTB skills, which is usually a group activity.

So you’ve had a few sessions training with people, what’s the importance of training with someone for you?

It’s always great to train with someone who is better than you, even if it’s in one particular area. For example, my girlfriend is much better at the MTB downhills than I am, so I’m always pushing to try and keep up with her; like she does when it comes to the uphills with me. And as I said before, my swimming technique leaves a lot to be desired, so having someone else there reminds you to stay calm and focus on technique, which is very important.

What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get across that finish line?

Probably eat. Since deciding to do the triathlon and taking my training up a notch, I’ve turned into an eating machine. So I can’t imagine what I’ll be like after the event itself! Then, I’ll probably celebrate with a beer or two with my friends. There’s quite a few of us taking part in the Craggy Island Triathlon, so I’m sure we’ll be celebrating with a few well-earned ales.

If you want to keep up with Laura and how she’s progressing, you can follow her on Twitter here on better yet, catch up with her on Strava here. We’ll catch up with Laura again in a few months to see how she’s getting on.

 We’ve also set up a Strava club for anyone that wants to train / compare / or get motivated with other like-minded individuals. Join us at https://www.strava.com/clubs/Tripals

If you’d like to feature in our beginners section, drop us an email. Be great to hear from you.